A byproduct of some surgical procedures is the generation of liquid, semisolid, and/or solid waste material. The liquid waste material may include bodily fluids and irrigating solution(s) at the surgical site, and the solid and semisolid waste material may include bits of tissue and pieces of surgical material(s). The medical waste, regardless of its phase, is preferably collected so it neither fouls the surgical site nor becomes a biohazard in the medical suite in which the procedure is being performed.
The medical waste may be removed from the surgical site through a suction tube under the influence of a vacuum provided by a suction source. One exemplary medical waste collection system is sold under the tradename NEPTUNE by Stryker Corporation (Kalamazoo, Mich.) with certain versions of the medical waste collection system disclosed in commonly owned United States Patent Publication No. 2005/0171495, published Aug. 4, 2005, International Publication No. WO 2007/070570, published Jun. 21, 2007, and International Publication No. WO 2014/066337, published May 1, 2014, the entire contents of each are incorporated herein by reference.
A manifold may be provided that facilitates interfacing the suction tube with the medical waste collection system. Additionally or alternatively, the manifold may include a filter element for filtering the waste material to avoid clogging or compromise of components of the medical waste collection system. The manifold may be single use and disposable. For example, an unused manifold may be operably coupled with the medical waste collection system before or during the procedure, and the used manifold may be operably decoupled from the medical waste collection system during or after the procedure. Facilitating safe and efficient repeated coupling and decoupling of manifolds with the medical waste collection system requires a robust interface, which remains an area of particular interest and development.